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The Plural of Apocalypse

Well, we're here. The Serpent rises tomorrow at 11:12 UTC (so close!), 6:12 AM in God's Time Zone, EST. First, I made it - a victory in and of itself! Second, it's bullshit. But I believed in it a long time ago, half-ironically, but alas, half-seriously. No longer, but the damage is done. So I will use tomorrow as you should: re-dedicate yourself towards self-improvement, and the improvement of your family and community. Further, one - you! (and me!) - should strive to expand your notion of family and community. I view all of life as my community, and try to live with that mindset. It's tough, of course, but it's necessary for all of us if we are, collectively, going to rise above our primate instincts and become fully and truly, Human. We want that, right?

It's easy to look back into history and see the flaws of all the failed nations, empires, religions or societies over time, and equally hard to look at our own society or nation and see those flaws. The very same flaws that could lead to our own destruction. Since it is unlikely that the world will end tomorrow, let us instead focus on a more localized definition of apocalypse, which is societal. Societies rise and fall, over time. Some are more successful than others for a variety of reasons, but nothing lasts forever. The apocalypse is the end of your society. The ancient Maya. The Assyrians. The folks on Easter Island. Rome. Westernized Persia.

Iranian college kids in the early 70's. Look like typical 70's college kids, right? No longer. That society is gone. Destroyed.

Famous Iranian actors from the early 70's. Skin and hair, showing! No longer. Westernized Iran is gone, replaced by Mullahs and religious police. And this is a theme in many different apocalypseseses - the rise and triumph of religious fundamentalism. It's the scourge of our species and we need to fight against it at every junction. Alas, we appear to be losing.

Behold! There once was a time when Israel promoted tourism in Palestine. And why not? A beautiful land with metric tons of history. But alas! After getting tantalizingly close to real peace in the late 90's, this area has... degraded.

The reality today, with little reason to be optimistic for the future. Sad, and only getting sadder.

So count your blessings while you can, and appreciate all that is good with your society. And the things you find wrong with your society? Address it. Organize. Get involved. Speak up and out. Religious fundamentalism is always a minority movement that wields power far beyond their numerical representation in any given society. People power works, if the people get out on the streets.